Southern Miss Lady Eagles Big Comeback vs. JMU Comes Up Short

The Lady Eagles weren't able to string together consecutive 17-point comebacks, falling to 12-11 on the year with a loss to James Madison.

Southern Miss Lady Eagles guard Hayleigh Breland (#23) brings the ball up the floor against James Madison. / Dalton Trigg

HATTIESBURG – The Southern Miss Lady Eagles were riding a high after pulling off an incredible 17-point comeback win against Old Dominion over the weekend. Unfortunately for the Lady Eagles, they found themselves down by 17 points once again on Wednesday night, this time against a very talented James Madison squad at Reed Green Coliseum. With the loss, Southern Miss fell to 12-11 overall and 5-7 in Sun Belt Conference play.

Although Southern Miss fought back valiantly yet again, it ultimately fell to James Madison, 83-72. The Lady Eagles erased the 17-point deficit, tying the game at 48-48 with 4:01 left in the third quarter, but they were never able to get over the hump and take the lead.

The Lady Eagles fought hard, but couldn't complete a 17-point comeback on Wednesday night at Reed Green Coliseum. / Dalton Trigg

Top Performers

Senior guard Jakayla Johnson led the Lady Eagles with 22 points, two rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 36 minutes while shooting 8-14 overall and 2-3 from deep. Freshman center Whitney Hart and senior guards Meloney Thames and Hayleigh Breland were the other three Southern Miss players to score double digits with 17, 12, and 11 points, respectively.

Hart finished with 10 of the Lady Eagles 30 rebounds, and Breland dished out a team-high four assists.

As for the Lady Dukes, Southern Miss had no answers for the senior guard-forward duo of Payton McDaniel and Ashanti Barnes. McDaniel finished with a game-high 24 points on 10-16 shooting to go with eight rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes.

Barnes poured in 21 points on 10-20 shooting to go with nine rebounds, five assists, and one steal in 31 minutes. The 6-2 forward showcased her ability to run the floor, as she beat the Lady Eagles down the floor in transition on mulitple occasions, leading to easy buckets for the Lady Dukes.

Differences In The Game

The three big areas that decided this game were rebounding, paint points, and fast-break points. The Lady Dukes dominated the paint, outrebounding the Lady Eagles 44-30 and outscoring them down low 52-40.

James Madison punished Southern Miss in the open floor with an 18-5 advantage in fast-break points. Although the Lady Eagles made yet another great comeback attempt, it's tough to string together wins when you're consistently playing from behind. Missy Bilderback's crew will look to get back on track on Saturday when they take on Toledo on the road.

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